An Empty Heart: the Hunt for Blood
Takeshi's eyes opened, slowly adjusting themselves to the sunlight that was filling the room. He sat up and got out of bed with his usual impatient speed after a few moments of thought. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he walked slowly to the apartment's bathroom. Twisting the faucet, he slapped water into his face; afterwards brushing his teeth. After a quick shower, he quietly made a cup of hot cocoa and drank deeply. A warmth blossomed in his body from the drink, and he now moved with his usual briskness to a couch that was positioned to see a grand view of Paris. He sipped from his mug, while he watched the people of the city go about their lives. Everything in my life ends up being more complicated than most other people... This was understated as an explosion ripped up a small part of Paris apart. Takeshi judged the explosion with a deft eye, Gas station most likely... why would it catastrophically fail like that though? He sighed, deciding to check out this oddity. Grabbing his room's key, he walked out the door, closing it behind him. He with his normal impatience, he quickly stepped down all of the stairs, finding himself in the apartment's garage. He walked over to where his vehicle was parked. Normally, he prefered to walk, but he wanted to get to the explosion's source before it was roped off. Swinging his right leg over his motorcycle, and put his key into the ignition, twisting his arm as it slid into place. The motor roared into life, and after revvingthe engine twice, Takeshi drove out of the garage, weaving through traffic with ease. As he neared his destination, he began to wonder what he would see when he got there... ---- Alice woke up in a daze. She looked around carefully trying to get her baring. There was glass every where and she realized that she was hanging up side down by her seat belt. The last thing she remembered was being driven to work that morning. She had just happened to be looking out the window as she saw they were passing by a gas station when all of a sudden ... A young man with black-brown hair was pulling back Alice's door, and with gentle but strong arms, he gingerly pulled the girl out of the wreckage that once was a stretch limo. He sighed, allowing her to stand on her own, but asking, "Are you alright?" Still reeling from the shock she just nodded her head slightly but was still extremely unbalance being unable to stand up properly with out support. The man smiled at her, however he noticed people were watching this scene, and so he asked, "Do you need a ride to somewhere or do you need a place to stay for a little bit? I'd think you'd like to avoid the press right about now, eh?" "Umm, yah," she replied in a daze. The man looked concerned for a moment, before walking her to a motorcycle, and after getting on himself, helped her on too. After checking to make sure she wouldn't fall off, he turned on the engine and sped away, passing a fire truck on the way to where he was staying. As he wove through traffic, his face eventually set into a dispassionate expression. As the wind whipped at her face her thoughts became increasingly clear. She then realized that the same man from last night was driving her to some unknown location. "Wait, where are we going? And what were you doing there?" she asked concernedly. Turning to look at her while driving, a move made scarier by the fact that he wasn't hitting anything, he said simply, "I was sitting at my house when I saw a lovely fireball engulf the gas station. I'm a suspicious kind of guy, so I decide to see what had happened, though I wasn't expecting to find you there." He turned back to the road only after making a perfect stop at a red light, before continuing to the destination. Without looking back again, he said, "I doubt you're the suicidal type, so let me ask you this; does your driver always take you past that gas station on your way to work?" "I believe so," she said returning to her usual reserved self. The man was silent for a moment, before replying, "Well, considering you were probably the most important person there, especially considering you're a contractor, I'm guessing you were the specific reason they blew the place to smitherenes. Now, since I'm sure a stretch limo would be easy to timeline, I'm guessing this was a remote detonation, since that way their would be no chance of leaving extra evidence." As he finished his statement, he drove into a garage and parked, turning off the motorcycle. Alice sat there for a few moments and then began, "Why are you doing this? This incident had nothing to do with you and yet you're going out of your way .... What do you stand to gain?" The man got off the bike and looked at her as she sat there, "Do I need to gain anything from this?" "You're a contractor ... what logic is there in doing something without gaining something else in return?" she asked continuing to stare straight ahead. The man turned, pocketing his keys as he stared off into the light that was spilling from the garage's entrance. He replied after a moment, "There is none." He then walked towards the door that would lead to stairs up to his room. Alice slowly got off the bike and followed him, "That's absured. Although contractors are capable of feeling their actions should ultimatly be dictated by logic. The goal of any being is self preservation, anything beyond that is pointless." The man was silent as they walked up the stairs, but once they reached his room, he turned to her and said to her in a stern, but not angry voice, "How about this? I'll let you live your life and make your own decisions, and you'll let me live my life and make my own decisions. Because in that case, I'm going to help you, and that's that." Alice didn't respond and instead remaind silent. The man sighed and walked into the apartment, leaving the door open so Alice could decide for herself. He pulled from his overcoat, a casket, which he took a quick sip from before sealing and pocketing it again. Alice stares into the apartment but then turns around to head back down the stares and out of the building. Category:Site-Wide Continuality